Ask about “Elle Smith” and you’ll get a Kentucky journalist with a Miss USA crown, a British actress, or a British model with an agency profile — the name is genuinely shared. Start with the Elle Smith who won Miss USA 2021 on November 29, 2021, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then work outward to the other Ellas who keep turning up in search results.
Born: June 20, 1998 ·
Birthplace: Springfield, Ohio ·
Known for: Miss USA 2021, journalism, modeling ·
Miss Universe 2021: Top 10 finisher ·
Education: University of Kentucky, class of 2020
Quick snapshot
- Won Miss USA 2021 on November 29, 2021 (The Courier Journal (Kentucky’s newspaper))
- Graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 (University of Kentucky (Smith’s journalism school))
- Worked as an on-air reporter at WHAS-TV in Louisville (Seventeen (lifestyle magazine))
- Her ethnicity — no direct public statement from Smith is documented.
- Her relationship status — no official source confirms a link to footballer Leah Williamson.
- Ella-Rae Smith’s exact birth date is not publicly confirmed.
- May 2021 — first pageant, Miss Kentucky USA 2021, ended in a win (KRNL Magazine (University of Kentucky’s student magazine))
- November 29, 2021 — crowned Miss USA 2021 (The Courier Journal (Kentucky’s newspaper))
- December 12, 2021 — Top 10 at Miss Universe 2021 (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
- In 2022 she appeared in the “Churchill Downs” music video (University of Kentucky Alumni (official university publication))
- Her documented social handles are @officialellesmith on Instagram and TikTok.
Twelve facts, one pattern: every serious profile of Elle Smith starts in the same place — Kentucky journalism, a first-time pageant win, and a global stage reached in under a year.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Elle Smith |
| Birth date | June 20, 1998 |
| Birthplace | Springfield, Ohio, USA |
| Occupation | Journalist, model, beauty-pageant titleholder |
| Education | University of Kentucky — broadcast journalism degree, political science minor (2020) |
| Pageant title | Miss USA 2021 |
| Miss Universe 2021 | Top 10 finisher |
| First pageant | Miss Kentucky USA 2021 (May 2021) |
| Television | On-air reporter, WHAS-TV, Louisville (from October 2020) |
| High school | Shawnee High School, Springfield, Ohio (2016) |
| Screen credit | “Churchill Downs” music video (2022) |
| Social media | @officialellesmith (Instagram, TikTok) |
Who Is Elle Smith?
Elle Smith is an American journalist, model, and beauty-pageant titleholder — the University of Kentucky’s journalism school describes her exactly that way (University of Kentucky (Smith’s journalism school)). No other woman named Elle or Ella Smith in this article can claim that combination.
Elle Smith’s background
- Grew up in Springfield, Ohio (Seventeen (lifestyle magazine)); Wikipedia lists her as a 2016 graduate of Shawnee High School (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)).
- Earned a broadcast journalism degree with a political science minor from the University of Kentucky in 2020 (University of Kentucky Alumni (official university publication)).
- Worked as an on-air reporter at WHAS-TV in Louisville, a role she began in October 2020 (Seventeen (lifestyle magazine)).
Elle Smith’s career highlights
- Her first pageant was Miss Kentucky USA 2021 — and she won it (KRNL Magazine (University of Kentucky’s student magazine)).
- Later that year, she took the Miss USA 2021 crown.
- Two weeks after that, she finished in the Top 10 at Miss Universe 2021.
The pattern: a broadcast journalist entered pageants as a first-timer and won at the top level. That sequence — career first, crown second — is exactly why her profile looks different from the other Ellas’.
A talent scout searching “Elle Smith” often lands on a British model’s agency page and misses the Miss USA winner’s journalism reel. The name collision costs real opportunities.
The distinction is practical: the journalism-first career is the marker that separates the Miss USA winner from everyone else who shares the name.
What Is Elle Smith’s Ethnicity?
There is no documented public statement from Elle Smith about her ethnicity. The search interest is real; the record is not. Her nationality is the one part of that question with a clear answer: she is American.
Elle Smith’s family heritage
- Her hometown, Springfield, Ohio, is well documented; her parents’ backgrounds are not.
- Her surname, Smith, is English in origin, but a last name does not document a family tree.
What is Elle Smith’s nationality?
- Elle Smith is American — born in Springfield, Ohio, USA.
- University and pageant profiles describe her as American, without narrowing ethnicity further.
- No verified source in this review assigns her a specific ethnic identity.
The honest answer: ethnicity is the gap in the record. Any specific claim online is unverified until Smith addresses it herself.
Is Leah Williamson in a Relationship with Elle Smith?
The pairing of the Miss USA 2021 winner with English footballer Leah Williamson keeps surfacing in searches. The record contains no confirmation of a relationship.
The rumor source
- Leah Williamson is an English footballer; the name pairing appears in social-media posts and fan discussions, not in reporting.
- No official statement from either woman confirms a romantic connection.
Lack of confirmation
- Search results that assert the relationship rely on inference, not on interviews or announcements.
- Until one of them addresses it publicly, the rumor stays a rumor.
The upshot: a name pairing without a statement is noise, not news. If the relationship is real, the confirmation will come from Smith or Williamson — not from a search results page.
Searches pairing Elle Smith with Leah Williamson attract clicks, but the record contains no statement from either woman. A headline that asserts the relationship reports a rumor as fact.
The catch, restated: a headline can report a rumor; a fact-checked profile can only report the absence of confirmation.
Who Are the Other Famous Ellas and Elles?
Who are some famous celebrities named Elle?
The names that collide in search are the Miss USA winner, British actress Ella Smith, British model-actress Ella-Rae Smith, British singer-actress Ella Hunt, and American actress Ella Anderson.
Part of the confusion is a name-collision across at least four public careers. Separating them matters because search engines don’t.
Who is Ella Smith?
- British actress — a distinct career from the Miss USA winner’s.
Who is Ella-Rae Smith?
- British model and actress whose agency profiles regularly surface in “Elle Smith” searches.
- A recurring search claim ties her to Rick and Morty; no credit list in the sources reviewed confirms it.
Ella Hunt (actress and singer)
- British actress and singer, known for Dickinson (Apple TV+) and the film Anna and the Apocalypse.
Ella Anderson (actress)
- American actress, best known for Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger.
The takeaway: “Elle Smith” can mean an American pageant winner, a British model, a British singer-actress, or a Nickelodeon star — the country and the career are the fastest filters.
How Old Are the Different Ellas?
Age is where the record splits cleanly — if the right woman is matched to the right year.
How old is Elle Smith?
- Born June 20, 1998, per Wikipedia (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)) — she was 23 when she won Miss USA 2021.
How old is Ella Smith?
- The British actress Ella Smith has a different birth year from the Miss USA winner; conflating the two ages is the most common mix-up in age searches.
How old is Ella-Rae Smith?
- Her birth year is not documented in the sources reviewed.
How old is Ella now?
- If “Ella” means Ella Hunt, the sources reviewed do not document her birth year.
- If “Ella” means Ella Anderson, she was born in 2005.
How old is Ella Anderson?
- Born in 2005, she is younger than the Miss USA winner by seven years.
The catch: two of the four birth years are solid, one is absent, and one is frequently borrowed from the wrong person.
Age data is the quickest test of a source: an article that gives Elle Smith a 2005 birth year is describing the Nickelodeon actress, not the Miss USA winner.
The implication: when the birth year and the career markers disagree, the profile is about a different Ella.
What Are the Career Highlights of Each Elle?
Once the names are separated, the careers are easier to track. The Miss USA winner’s own list is short and specific.
Elle Smith’s pageant and acting career
- In 2022 she appeared in the “Churchill Downs” music video (University of Kentucky Alumni (official university publication)).
- Her pageant résumé: Miss Kentucky USA 2021, Miss USA 2021, Top 10 at Miss Universe 2021 — all inside one year.
Ella-Rae Smith’s acting and modeling
- British model and actress whose agency profiles often surface in “Elle Smith” searches.
- A recurring online claim ties her to Rick and Morty; no credit list in the sources reviewed confirms it.
Ella Hunt’s acting and music
- British actress and singer, known for Dickinson (Apple TV+) and the film Anna and the Apocalypse.
Ella Anderson’s acting roles
- American actress best known for Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger.
The pattern: the same name spans a national pageant, British television, a film musical, and Nickelodeon. Search engines blend them; the fastest filter is country plus industry.
Where to Find Verified Information on Elle Smith?
If a profile doesn’t mention Miss USA 2021 or Kentucky journalism, it is probably about a different woman. These are the fixed points.
Official profiles
- The University of Kentucky’s journalism-school spotlight documents her degree and her WHAS-TV reporting.
- The University of Kentucky Alumni Office’s 2022 profile tracks her pageant year.
- Her documented social handles are @officialellesmith on Instagram and TikTok.
Reliable sources
- Local Louisville coverage from The Courier Journal is the strongest press record of her win in this roundup.
- A profile that calls her an “actress and model” without mentioning the Miss USA title is likely about a different person.
Related reading: Elle Smith biography: career, Miss USA, and Leah Williamson · Elle Smith Biography: Miss USA 2021 Winner, Journalist and Model
The trade-off: official profiles are thin on personal detail, so cross-check anything about her private life against the two sources that know her professionally — her university and her Louisville newsroom.
Elle Smith’s Career Timeline
The chronology is compact: her entire national pageant run took seven months.
- — Won Miss Kentucky USA 2021, her first pageant (University of Kentucky (Smith’s journalism school)).
- — Won Miss USA 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (The Courier Journal (Kentucky’s newspaper)).
- — Competed at Miss Universe 2021 in Eilat, Israel, placing in the Top 10 (Seventeen (lifestyle magazine)).
What this means: her national pageant run took less than eight months from first pageant to global stage — a pace that explains why the record is so easy to misattribute.
Confirmed Facts vs. What’s Still Unclear
Confirmed facts
- Won Miss USA 2021 on November 29, 2021.
- Graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 (University of Kentucky (Smith’s journalism school)).
- Reached the Top 10 at Miss Universe 2021.
What’s unclear
- Ethnicity — no direct public statement.
- Relationship with Leah Williamson — no official confirmation.
- Ella-Rae Smith’s birth year.
The balance is deliberate: the confirmed list covers career mechanics, the unclear list covers personal identity. When a source blurs the two, hold it to a higher standard.
What the Sources Say
After a hiatus, Smith returned to TikTok and reconnected with the followers who tracked her pageant run.
Elle Smith, via TikTok
On Instagram, Smith announced a partnership with activewear brand TALA.
Elle Smith, via Instagram
Elle Smith is an American journalist, model, and beauty-pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2021.
University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information
Smith’s first pageant was Miss Kentucky USA 2021 — an entry that ended with her representing the state at Miss USA.
The record, so far, is consistent: the facts are public, the personal details are private, and the rumor mill is outperforming the evidence.
The Takeaway
Elle Smith is the rare public figure whose career is easy to verify once you know the markers: Miss USA 2021, the University of Kentucky, WHAS-TV, and a Top 10 finish at Miss Universe. The same markers are the best protection against the name’s other owners — the British model, the actress, the singer, and the Nickelodeon star all share the search results but none share her résumé. Searchers who check for the Miss USA crown avoid the wrong Elle; anyone who skips that marker is reading a different Ella Smith.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Elle Smith from?
Springfield, Ohio, USA. She grew up there and later moved to Kentucky for college and television work.
What is Elle Smith known for?
Winning Miss USA 2021, reaching the Top 10 at Miss Universe 2021, and working as a journalist and model.
Did Elle Smith win Miss Universe?
No. She placed in the Top 10 at Miss Universe 2021 but did not advance to the Top 5.
Has Elle Smith appeared in any movies?
Her most visible screen credit so far is the 2022 music video “Churchill Downs.” She has no feature-film credits in the sources reviewed.
What is the difference between Elle Smith and Ella-Rae Smith?
Elle Smith is the American journalist and Miss USA 2021 winner. Ella-Rae Smith is a British model and actress. They are different people.
Are there any official social media accounts for Elle Smith?
Her documented handles are @officialellesmith on Instagram and TikTok.
The FAQ answers are anchored to the same markers: the Miss USA crown, the Kentucky journalism degree, and the absence of official statements on the private questions.
George Thompson is Senior Reporter at UrbanMixr.uk, covering breaking culture, lifestyle and general news stories across the UK.